Wheatbelt NRM has been selected by the Commonwealth Government as the project lead. We have commenced working with a group of community-based organisations that have each received funding to run a series of community-building activities.  Projects include an events coordinator to improve the quality and quantity of local events, youth mentoring aimed at keeping young people in the region, community arts and capacity building.  These community-based projects will be rolled out over the next two years.

“The Eastern Wheatbelt is at the coal face of climate change so we are pleased to be a part of a program that is supporting the communities that are living with very real challenges associated with climate variability” says Wheatbelt NRM Program Manager for Sustainable Agriculture, Felicity Gilbert.

The Changemaker Leadership Workshop is open to the whole community and is offered as part of the national drought funding.  The intent is to encourage and develop emerging leaders who can play a leading role in supporting their communities through times of drought and economic hardship. 

Community members who should consider applying to attend the training include those who have:

• A strong desire to drive meaningful change within their community.
• An interest in finding innovative solutions for complex challenges.
• A commitment to exploring new approaches for building a thriving community.
• An interest in driving local action to effectively prepare for drought. 

For more information click here

The workshops will be run by the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation who are delivering similar programs across Australia.  The Central Eastern Wheatbelt will receive three two-day workshops. “This program has an excellent reputation and represents a great opportunity at no cost to participants”.

The Foundation for Rural Regional Renewal has, to date, awarded over $3.7 million to local organisations in 11 regions across Australia for 65

projects that will enhance the capacity and resilience of these agriculture-dependent communities in preparing for the impacts of future drought.

The full list of the projects funded in the Central Eastern Wheatbelt can be found here

https://frrr.org.au/blog/2023/06/27/3-7m-awarded-to-rural-community-groups-to-build-capacity-and-prepare-for-drought/

For further information contact WNRM Project Officer, Aimee Ray at aray@wheatbeltnrm.org.au or 0420 363 052

Acknowledgement –

This program receives funding from the Australian Government. It’s part of The Helping Regional Communities Prepare for Drought Initiative.